Method of making corn sugar



Patented Nov. 21, 1933 STATES 1,936,157 lVIETHOD OF MAKING CORN SUGAR Charles Ebert, Leonia, N.

national Patents Development Company,

a corporation of Delaware mington, DeL,

3., assignor to Inter- Wil- No Drawing. Application July 12, 1930 Serial No. 467,627

in Claims.

This invention relates to the production of corn sugar of the type which is known to the trade as pressed or Argo sugar. This product has a purity (reducing sugar content calculated as dextrose) of about 93%, dry substance basis, and has heretofore been made by pressing slab sugar in hydraulic presses, shaving the slabs and drying and granulating the material in rotary driers. The product consists of pellet-like aggregations of minute dextrose hydrate crystals containing some of the non-dextrose substances of the mother liquor which is not completely removed by the pressing operation.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method of making a corn sugar of this type, and approximately of the purity indicated, (which of course may be varied as desired) whereby in particular the necessity for the pressing operation, which is laborious and costly, is eliminated.

A further object is to utilize for the manufacture of corn sugar of the Argo type second sugars, or the like, produced in the manufacture of high purity, granular crystalline dextrose, or corn sugar, of the cerelose type by recrystallizing operations, that is by the'crystallization of dextrose out of hydrols or mother liquors. In the manufacture of high purity dextrose under U. S. patents to W. B. Newkirk 1,471,347, October 23,1923 and 1,521,830, January 6, 1925, for example, the converted liquor is crystallized in motion and then centrifuged to remove the hydrol. The latter is subjected to a second crystallizing operation for the production of a second sugar and the hydrol from the centrifuging of the second sugar may be, if desired, recrystallized for the production of a third sugar. The present invention utilizes, these second or third sugars, preferably the second sugar, without however attempting to purify the sugar completely, in connection with unpressed slab sugar for the manufacture of corn sugar of the Argo type. By "slab sugar is intended corn sugar made by pouring the converted liquor into molds or upon a casting floor allowing the same to solidify, and then comminuting the slabs, if desired. 70 and 80 corn sugars are examples of this type.

The product has all the qualities of the usual 50 pressed sugar except that it melts somewhat more rapidly, which is an advantage due to the fact that the pellets are less dense and hard.

The process of the present invention is as follows: The starch is converted in the usual way 55 to a purity (reducing sugar content calculated .kept in constant agitation and allowed to cool as dextrose on dry substance basis) of 89% to 90% and this liquor is then filtered and refined. for example with bone black or other activated carbon, in the usual manner, and thereafter concentrated to a density of from 41 to 43 Baum. 66 At this density it is introduced into a cooler and treated with shavings or scrap from a previously solidified or crystallized batch, about 200 pounds of shavings or scrap being used for a 60,000 pound batch of converted liquor. The liquor is then cooled to a temperature of from 100 to 110 F. and cast upon tables or on a casting floor where a partial solidification takes place through the formation of minute crystals. After about 24 hours from the time that the liquid is cast the 7 solidified or partially solidified sugar is cut into slabs and put into a curing room where it remains for from four to ten days at temperatures ranging from 80 to 90 Fahrenheit. The slabs are then taken out of the curing room and shaved, or similarly comminuted, and mixed with a second sugar, or other sugar, purer than slab sugar, obtained by the extraction from a fluent massecuite, by centrifuging or equivalent operation of all or most of the mother liquor therein. To give a concrete example of the manner in which the second sugar is made for the purposes of the present invention, the hydrol from the first crystallization, which may have a purity of 80% and a density of from 39 to 4l /2 Baum, is cooled to a temperature within the range of 115 and 130 and is then introduced into a crystallizer having the usual agitator for slow agitation of the massecuite, upon foots (a mixture of mother liquor and crystals from a previous crystallization) which vary in amount from 25% to 35% of the batch of liquor plus foots. The higher the temperature the larger should be the quantity of foots. The massecuite in the crystallizer is slowly, for example, to a temperature of from 80 to 90 F. which may be reached at the end of a period of from 10 to 14 days. The massecuite is then centrifuged, and if need be washed with water or light sugar liquor to give such a purity that when mixed with the comminuted slab sugar the mixture will have the desired purity, for example 93%.

The slab sugar and the second sugar are ordinarily mixed in about equal proportions although the proportions may be varied. The slab sugar will have the purity of the converted liquor, 89% to 90% and the second sugar will then have a purity of approximately 95% to 96%. The proportions of the two ,component sugars may no of course be varied in accordance with a variation in the purities of the components or in accordance with the desired purity of the final product.

If the mixture of the shaved slab sugar and spun second sugar is too sticky, the purity of the spun sugar may be raised, by further washing to a higher percentage, say 97% to 98%; or a small percentage of finished first sugar, which usually has a purity of 99.5+% may be added. The mixture is then dried, preferably in a rotary drum drying apparatus such for example as that shown in U. S. Patent 1,536,806 to J. J. Merrill, May 5, 1925. The product may be dried down to 8% to 10% moisture (including water of crystallization) and will be in the form of small pellets.

By first casting the concentrated solution, and allowing partial solidification to take place and then curing the material in slabs in a heated enclosure as described above, the crystal character of the cured slabs is such that the slabs can be shaved into pieces small enough so that they will ball up and form pellets in the drier.

It will be understood that first sugar of the cerelose type, or third sugar might be used in place of second sugar, with appropriate adjustment of proportions where the same finished purity is desired. There is an advantage in using second sugar because it will have, without much if any washing, the right purity for mixing with the slab sugar in the most desirable proportions. It is the intention to cover however all modifications of the disclosed method within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Method of making corn sugar having the general characteristics of pressed and granulated corn sugar which comprises mixing shaved slab sugar with dextrose in the form of separate crystalline granules and drying the mixture.

2. Method of making corn sugar having the general characteristics of pressed and granulated corn sugar which comprises mixing shaved slab sugar with dextrose in the form of separate crystalline granules and drying the mixture by a tumbling operation which forms the material into pellets.

3. Method of making corn sugar having the general characteristics of pressed and granulated corn sugar which comprises mixing shaved slab sugar with a partially purged mass of dextrose in the form of separate crystalline granules and drying the mixture.

4. Method of making corn sugar having the general characteristics of pressed and granulated corn: sugar which comprises mixing shaved slab sugar with a partially purged mass of dextrose in the form of separate crystalline granules and drying the mixture by a heating and tumbling operation which forms the material into pellets.

5. Method of making corn sugar having the general characteristics of pressed and granulated corn sugar which comprises mixing in substantially equal proportions shaved slab sugar having a purity of approximately 89% to 90% and a dextrose mass having a purity of from 95% to 98% the dextrose of which mass is in the form of separate crystalline granules, and drying the mixture with heat and agitation to form the material into pellets.

6. Method of making corn sugar having the general characteristics of pressed and granulated corn sugar which comprises converting starch, purifying the converted liquor, solidifying and curing the same with its mother liquor content; crystallizing a starch converted dextrose solution to a fluent massecuite of separate crystalline granules and mother liquor, and purging said massecuite of most of its mother liquor; and shaving the aforesaid slab sugar, mixing the same with the purged sugar and drying the mixture with heat and agitation to form the material into pellets.

7. Corn sugar consisting of separate crystalline dextrose granules aggregated in pellet-like form with shaved slab dextrose.

8. Corn sugar in pellet form consisting of the .de-hydrated mixture of substantially-equal parts of shaved slab corn sugar having a purity of approximately 89% to 90% and dextrose consisting of separate crystalline granules having a purity of from 95% to 98%.

9. Method of making a granular corn sugar from a starch converted dextrose solution which comprises concentrating said solution and casting the same to allow partial solidification to take place, curing the partially solidified material in slabs in a heated enclosure, shaving the cured slabs, and drying the shaved material.

10. Method of making a granular corn sugar from a starch converted dextrose solution which comprises concentrating said solution and casting the same to allow partial solidification to take place, curing the partially solidified material in slabs in a heated enclosure, shaving the cured slabs, and drying the shaved material mixed with a granular dextrose of higher purity.

CHARLES EBERT. 

